This invention relates generally to lighting control systems. More particularly, the present invention pertains to methods and systems for commissioning light fixtures and other system devices with a system controller in a lighting system.
Lighting control systems are used to control and manage system devices that are part of a building lighting system. These managed devices may include occupancy sensors, light sensors, switches and lighting fixtures. Lighting systems and control systems are generally commissioned after the devices are installed. The commissioning process may include assigning devices to a particular area, defining the interaction of a device with other devices, and defining the behavior of a particular system device.
Commissioning light fixtures and system devices in a lighting control system is conventionally accomplished manually. For example, a lighting system installer may walk throughout a facility and assign and/or record unique addresses for each system device and light fixture. The addresses are stored locally in the system devices and light fixtures and entered, either real-time or thereafter, into a lighting system controller. The unique addresses may be entered in the system devices and light fixtures via DIP switch manipulation or in a memory location of the system device or light fixture via infrared, short distance radio communication, or wired communication link.
Manually commissioning the system devices and the light fixtures of the lighting system is time-consuming, expensive, and error-prone. Errors are difficult to identify and are time-consuming to correct.